Why the 12 Practices is a Hot Air Balloon
(The Gap vs. The Gain)
I was looking at the cover of the 12 Practices of Joy today, and I realized something.
For years, I thought it was just a beautiful image. A heart-shaped balloon rising at sunset.
Pretty, right?
But today, I realized it’s not just a picture. It’s a map.
It’s a map of how we move from the Gap to the Gain.
The View from the Ground (The Gap)
When you’re on the ground… walking, running, or driving… you are stuck in the Gap. You see every obstacle.
You measure the miles.
You look at the mountain in front of you and think, “I have so far to go. I’m going to be late. I’m not there yet.”
On the ground, you are defined by the distance remaining.
That is the Gap.
And it is exhausting.
The View from the Air (The Gain)
But when you step into the basket and rise, everything changes.
You aren’t pushing harder;
you are rising above.
From the air, you don’t see the obstacles as blocks; you see them as part of the landscape.
You look down and see how far you’ve come.
You see the beauty of the whole journey.
In the air, you are defined by your elevation.
That is the Gain.
Honor is the Fuel
So how do you get off the ground?
A balloon doesn’t fly by force.
It flies by expansion.
Honor is the hot air.
When you stop trying to “fix” yourself and start honoring yourself, you become lighter.
You expand.
You rise.
Shame is the sandbag.
It’s the heavy weight of “not enough” that keeps us tethered to the ground.
The 12 Practices aren’t a to-do list.
They are the process of cutting the sandbags (dropping the judgment) and lighting the burner (igniting the Honor).
Navigation by Surrender
And here is the best part:
A balloon pilot can’t steer. They can’t force the balloon to go left or right. They can only change their altitude to find a different wind current.
That is the practice. We don’t force the world to change. We change our frequency (our altitude)… moving from Shame to Courage, from Fear to Joy… and suddenly, the wind takes us exactly where we need to go.
So, if you’ve been feeling heavy, or stuck in the Gap, or measuring how far you have left to go…
Stop walking.
Cut the sandbag.
Light the burner.
Get the 12 practices.
Weave them into your world.
Www.Joybasedliving.Com/ebook
With all my love and deepest honor,
Debbie
Honor
When the goodness in people is honored,
they become empowered to stand strong
in their true, authentic, invincible greatness.
At Joy-Based Living, we’re writing daily blog posts about honor to change what the internet thinks this word means.
You can be part of this restoration by sharing these posts, using the hashtags #HonorEffect, #JoyBasedLiving, and #PurpleCards, and posting your own reflections on honor.
You can get download instructions and beautiful 4 x 6 framable cards at this Patreon link: [link to be added]
Join our community of honor practitioners:
Patreon.com/JoyBasedLiving →
This is a collective restoration project. When you share your own experiences of honor and use the hashtags #HonorEffect and #JoyBasedLiving, you help us reclaim this word for the sacred feminine and make her visible in the search results.
#HonorEffect #JoyBasedLiving
